Hale Koa Sunday Brunch

This buffet is totally hit or miss. I’ve been 4 times in the last couple years, and it’s never all good. The service is usually spot on and my glass is never empty. Today, our servers each offered us extra mimosas, because we’re cool people ;-) One thing I LOVED was that there were two older children running back and forth in front of the buffet with balloons, screaming like banshees, and one of the servers told them to stop. I was so excited, because most people are too timid to shush other peoples’ kids because helicopter parents think their cherubs should be allowed to scream bloody murder at a $ 30/​person brunch.
E1-​E5 pay about $ 30/​person for the buffet, and included is a mimosa. I’m normally not impressed with their pastry table, but this morning it was just amazing. We came at about 10:30 and a lot definitely needed to be refilled despite it not being very busy. The dessert table usually doesn’t wow me either, but today it was fantastic! And for the meats, normally those are what makes me full and happy, but today, those weren’t great. The poached eggs were only lukewarm, the port-​a-​gee sausage was chewy, the bacon was extremely rubbery… so you get one or the other, hot or cold. One will be great and the other will fail ;-)
It’s a great atmosphere, and the duo that performs each Sunday is adorable and engaging. Recommend to check out for something out of the ordinary :-)

Went to their brunch on a Sunday. The service was excellent. I have never experienced so such quick service of removing my empty plate or filling my glass with ice water as this establishment offered. The wait staff was very pleasant and cordial. It made me feel «special» and it made me want to come back again and tell others to come, too.

This is located in the banquet room. The parking is across the street from the Hale Koa hotel and no valet. The banquet room itself is an obstacle course to find and there was a massive smell of shrimp, which can be a turn off for the visitors. If you’re not a guest or military you may not be able to eat here. Military ID must be presented upon payment before entering. The service is excellent and there were more than enough waitstaff to keep your drinks filled. The food however was okay, some people compared it to the Vegas buffet, I guess depending on your taste if you prefer ample desserts this is the place, we came for the experience and if you’re military why not enjoy your benefits.

We’ve been to this showroom for weddings a few times & it was good but the Sunday brunch buffet proved different. We visited this past Sunday for the first time w/​out of town family. The service at the door is very slow even if you have a reservation & the staff shows that they are very unorganized. They finally sat us over a half hour after our reservation at outdoor seating which we didn’t know we were getting. Usually restaurants will ask if you’re okay w/​sitting outside. Especially if you have little ones! Not the case here. They sat us right next to the balcony railing. Being that it was 11am it was super hot & humid at this seating. Very uncomfortable. We would have dressed differently if we had known. We already weren’t impressed. We requested 2 highchairs when making our reservation & they weren’t there nor did our waitress come in a timely manner to offer them. When our waitress finally came to our table she seemed very irritated & was rude as hell! I politely asked if we could get 2 highchairs & she said «um.I’ll try look for some.» My sis in law & I waited over 15 mins w/​our 1 & 2 year olds sitting in our laps while everyone else in our party made their food. They had no where to sit! She finally came back w/​only 1 highchair. Didn’t explain why so I asked her & she said «oh well that’s all I could find. I had to walk all the way in the back so far to even get this one.» I asked where she expected the other child to sit & she just glared at me. The person who made our reservation intervened & said well I asked for 2 highchairs when I called to reserve. The waitress then started arguing w/​us & blamed the front desk for not telling her and that she couldn’t find anymore. Lol We were so upset by this point. All 15 of us were done making our food & had sat back down. We still had no water, no coffee, nothing! She finally came around to the table next to us & we had to flag her down to ask for water & coffee she then acted like we were bothering her and got all grouchy. While she was making our coffee & water I asked nicely if I could also get my mimosa afterwards (since I didn’t know when I would see her back at our table again. lol) she actually snapped at me & said «hold on, hold on, I get it for you later» like I was an idiot. I got upset and said «wow I was just asking nicely, just do it when you have time.» People in our party were shocked by her reaction. She obviously can’t handle her job. It’s a Buffett, all she has to do is make drinks! About 40 mins went by & we were almost done when she finally came by & said «ok, ok, I take your mimosa tickets now» we all gave them to her, our drinks came but she was missing my father in laws drink. He asked nicely about it and she said «you never give me ticket» which he did. All adults in our party had them & this was the first time anyone got mimosas since she finally came back to our table to serve us. She literally argued w/​my mother & father in law about it for a few minutes & still didn’t believe them. Another adult in our party ended up giving up her ticket to my father in law so he could get his drink because she was in disbelief that this waitress was arguing w/​them. It was too much! This lady was too much! She snapped at a few other people in our party that day as well. Later, she brought our check & didn’t mention that the 15% gratuity was already included! She had the nerve! Trying to pull a fast one so she could get a double tip! After that horrible service! Our whole experience was horrible here! Our out of town family were in disbelief! Btw, the food was okay. lots to choose from but nothing special. Not worth having to put up w/​junk delayed service. sadly, none of us will ever go back & if anyone asks me about this place I’ll be happy to tell the the truth.

DO NOT go to the Hale Koa for EASTER BRUNCH. We regulary go for brunch whenever my parents are visiting. The food and atmosphere is good and enjoyable… BUT the Easter Brunch was the polar opposite. We were cramed into the dinning room with less than 2 feet between tables. it was extremely difficult to move about and made us very anxious watching so many people move around, especially the waitstaff who had to eek by the tables balancing water, coffee and plates. They had crammed tables into the area where the buffet usuallly is and moved the food into another room. The music is usually great and local but today it was so loud I had to yell, reminescent of being in a bar, not brunch!
The cost for the Easter Brunch is more than typical sunday brunches but does not come with the usual glass of champagne. My spouse is particulary fond of seafood and sadened by the selection of sushi… only salmon. It left me in a sour mood. I felt as if the Hale Koa put profit way above the quality of food and satisfaction of their guests. Sad to see greed rear its ugly head during the easter holiday.

Not only is this one of the best values on thebisland, you’re not competing against 7000 Asian tourists who shove and cut their way like a school of mackerel. The food was above average, the shell fish and sushi was superior and the music duo was better than the pair we listened to at Duke’s last night. We’ll be back.

Awesome brunch with a lot of options. Anything from traditional breakfast, fancy breakfast meats, fresh fruit, sliced lamb or ham, made to order omelette, deserts, juices, bread and spreads, and even mimosa! Service was great. Very pleased.

As a buffet connoisseur, one cannot compare a buffet in HI to anywhere else… say Las Vegas or the sort. That being said I do enjoy this little buffet as the food is consistently good and fresh the 4 times I’ve come. Yes, the selection isn’t as huge or fancy as other places but for the same price as going to a cheapy buffet here on the island (I’ve seen some eeeeew) it’s really good. I also like the service here, they’re always friendly, quick and there’s always live music (the times I go.)
However, if you’re looking for seafood, crab legs etc this is not the buffet for you and they don’t serve that here. Just sashimi, sushi and maybe a fish dish. For seafood, best be ready to tack on an extra $ 20-​$ 40 and then you can hit up the likes of Oceanarium or Hoku’s. Seafood in HI buffets is not cheap, surprisingly.
There are other buffets like Shorebird and Dukes that are a little cheaper than Hale Koa and granted their selection is smaller but decent, but you’re definitely not getting omelet stations, multiple carving stations, fresh shashimi and desserts like here.

This was not worth a single penny. It’s $ 30 per person. The selection is okay-​huge antipasto/​raw fish stuff table, lots of desserts, fresh fruit, continental pastries, made to order pancakes and omlettes, carving station with lamb and ham, and a bunch of random foods.
I tried hash browns (multicolor potato mix) and it was probably the best thing there. Poached eggs Florentine-​not poached long enough, spinach soggy. Scrambled eggs –tasted and textured like instant eggs. Rack of lamb-​fattiest lamb I’ve ever had. Hardly anything edible on it. Mediterranean chicken thigh-​DRY. Bacon-​okay. sausage-​good but salty. Salad-​why add raw bean sprouts?! Flan-​eggy tasting. Chocolate layer cake-​tastes like frozen cake from the grocery store. Fruit was good.
I was disappointed at the poor quality. The last time I had regular breakfast at the Hale Koa it was good. This just made me feel like I wasted my hard earned money. Recommend you avoid it and save your money.

This is a brunch with plenty of food, most of it good. In general, though, I wasn’t blown away by anything, although the guava-​glazed ham and the coffee-​and-​chocolate mousse were both very good. Lots of green vegetation is visible through the windows, as well as the ocean if you squint. There are large seating areas indoors and outdoors, with tables that are easy to reconfigure for different-​sized parties. The staff was friendly, but the service inside the brunch (beyond the host/​hostess stand) was surprisingly slow.

Sort of expensive. I think it was $ 31 for the Sunday brunch. It comes with a «complimentary» mimosa, but they also charge you some sort of service charge so it’s either not really free, or they’re already charging you for the tip. Either way, I hate it when people try to sneak in extra costs like that which means waiters may not feel like they need to earn their tip. The service was actually really good. The waiters came often to clear our plates and refill our water and coffee.
The food is good, but not sure it’s worth the price. There is a good selection of food, but for me I try to go for the things that I don’t get all the time, so there were lots of simple fillers. The rack of lamb was really good so I definitely had a few pieces.

It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it. Also, you have to be active, or retired to make a reservation. So, the food was amazing, I didn’t feel pressured by the wait staff (Is that how you spell it?), and the place was clean, smelled nice, and the entire staff treated us with respect, and made us feel at home. However, Brandon (the omelet Chef) went above, and beyond. These were the best omelets I’ve ever eaten, and he even gave me pointers for making better ones at home. He came out to introduce himself to my (104 year old) grandmother, when he wasn’t busy he came by to see what his customers thought of the omelets, and as we were leaving, he made sure to say goodbye… great customer service from an omelet Chef, to say the least.